Monday, September 15, 2008

Creating "the day"

So, have you considered what a day would be like without duties, demands, and deadlines? Creating a day like this for yourself is not the same as "pampering." A trip to the spa may be wonderful, but what would happen if you went somewhere where it was really quiet except for maybe some occasional wistful sound of nature in the background?

Our world is filled with sound...maybe it's music in the grocery store, the TV in your home, the coffee machines at Starbucks, or engine noise, yours and all the other vehicles around you, as you drive home from work on the freeway. Whatever it is, we are definitely conditioned to noise. Given that we live in that state so much, silence can be uncomfortable and almost scary!

Great things can happen to you in the midst of extended silence. What can happen in silence? We have time and space to think! What a novel idea. In an age where our brains receive continual rapid fire information, we have opportunity to, as the dictionary* says, "use one's mind actively to form connected ideas."

Try taking a notebook and a pen with you and spending an extended period of time (a few hours) in a spot out in nature where you are away from people and noise. You may be surprised as to what comes to mind and makes its way onto the paper in front of you. Creative ideas, reflections on life, or some very imaginative plans may visit you...thoughts that would never surface in a typical day filled with routine activity. When we step out of the craziness of a frenzied pace and spend some time in the "quiet," our lives can come to a crossroads of change and growth.

That familiar Bible chapter, the 23rd Psalm, gives us some images that start us pondering. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul." It doesn't get much better than that. And its effects linger much longer than a day at the spa.

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"Perspectives" is a place where I'll be tossing out some concepts and ideas I'm pondering. I hope that my words will give you pause in the midst of your busy life. As we think about work, play, relationships, and spiritual matters, may you engage in some insightful, life-changing thought along with me.